Bears VP Tim McCaskey dies after long battle with cancer

CHICAGO -- Tim McCaskey, the Chicago Bears' vice president and the second-oldest of team matriarch Virginia and Ed McCaskey's 11 children, has died.

The Bears announced his death Sunday night. He had battled cancer the past 17 months.

In a statement, the McCaskey family says he was "as passionate, loyal, critical, analytical, committed and devoted a Bears fan as there ever was."

Tim McCaskey became the Bears' vice president in 1993 after a four-year, part-time affiliation with the club. He spent 18 years working for IMC Fertilizer Inc. and its predecessor and seven with Ernst & Young before joining the Bears.

A University of Notre Dame graduate, he is survived by his four children, eight grandchildren, 10 siblings and his mother.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press